Plant Calcium Excels at Bone-Building

BOSTONResearchers from the Harvard Medical School and University of Connecticut have discovered a calcium supplement derived from marine algae was more effective at bone formation than two common forms of the mineral. Published in the July 2010 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, their report detailed head-to-head comparisons of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate with the algae-sourced calcium (as AlgaeCal®, from Algaecal Inc.) on proliferation, mineralization, and oxidative stress in cultured human osteoblast cells.

The algae calcium, which also contains magnesium and other bone-building nutrients, increased alkaline phosphatase activity (a measure of mineralization) 2- to 2.5-times more effectively than calcium carbonate and calcium citrate, respectively. The algae calcium was also 3- to 4-times more effective, respectively, on DNA synthesis, which leads to new bone-building cells, in addition to depositing 1- to 4-times more calcium than either top calcium form, respectively. The results were further enhanced by co-administration with vitamin D3.

In the past, researchers believed that all calcium performed similarly with the exception of some differences in absorption, said Marcus Laux, ND, a spokesperson for AlgaeCal Inc. This study dispels that widely accepted theory by demonstrating measurable performance differences occur between calcium forms at the cellular level. It is not well known that 90 percent of calcium supplements are made from milling limestone or marble, so the better result from plant calcium is not entirely surprising.